Ashton's popularity

[[Dw...]]

I'm getting impression whenever I mention Dr Ashton / Ashton's manual to GP's or Psychiatrist no one of them seem to reflect. I feel like I'm mentioning name of some unknown shaman?

 

What's your experience there?

[[pi...]]

A lot of doctors in the US have never heard of Dr. Ashton. Some disregard her work simply because they "think" they know better. My doctor was receptive and was willing to use her taper plan for my withdrawal. 

 

pianogirl 

[[lo...]]

I am in the UK ... and my psychiatrist had never heard of her.  He also denied that my sxs were due to benzo withdrawal.  He said something about there being no clinical trials ...  >  on benzo withdrawal. 

 

 

[[Dw...]]

So I'm in Ireland... same here.

 

In addition, the best thing I heard today from one psychiatrist is that my addiction at this stage is merely psychological .

 

Generally they are all aware Benzos are bad and they will be reluctant to prescribe it, but when it comes to Benzo addiction in their eyes it looks less significant.

 

Those two things are not in proportion...

I wish they are right though

[[Lo...]]

I guess most doctors have not heard of Dr. Ashton for the same reasons we have not heard of her before taking those pills. I think Vernon Coleman touches on that issue quite nicely:

 

I believe that the main reason for this is that doctors are addicted to prescribing benzodiazepines just as much as patients are hooked on taking them. I don't think that the problem can ever be solved by gentle persuasion or by trying to wean patients off these drugs. I think that the only genuine long-term solution is to be aware of these drugs and to avoid them like the plague. The uses of the benzodiazepines are modest and relatively insignificant. We can do without them. I don't think that the benzodiazepine problem will be solved until patients around the world unite and make it clear that they are not prepared to accept prescriptions for these dangerous products.

 

http://www.benzo.org.uk/lwt.htm

[[li...]]

Dworkin,

 

The guy doesn't have a clue. Clonazepam is a very powerful drug, and you have ben on it for a long time. 0.25 mg is far from nothing ...

[[be...]]

Well some do know her. When my pdoc asked to script me various doses of Valium due to small cuts the first thing my insurance company said was, "Are you following the Ashton protocol?" Luckily he knew about her a long time ago so he just said, yes. Bully for them.

[[db...]]

MOST drs just go by the drug manufacturers claims like cutting dose in half every week or so and they don't seem to believe in protracted wd which hits everyone once off to a certain degree. Many also say that most folks can discontinue with little problems. I wonder how they explain how most people on benzos have a myriad of complaints.

 

I think it is because of their ignorance that they many times say it's in patients head acyually increasing patient anxiety right there breaking Hippoctratic oath.

[[xe...]]

my experience with US based doctors is that 3 out of 5 GPs, 5 out of 7 psychiatrists, and 10 out of 12 psychologists, knew enough about benzos to know that you have to go really slowly. Most of these people were unfamiliar with the specifics of Ashton's work, because unless you've specialized in sedatives fairly aggressively, it's pretty esoteric. But, at this point, there is enough data to support the idea that "slow is the way to go", that if the first provider you see doesn't like that, you should just fire them and find another.

 

Doctors who just meet you may in general be reluctant to prescribe benzos at all, and that's got everything to do with the legal framework. They don't know you. If you go sell them, or die from them, it's their butt on the line.